Hilopita alle Vongole with Parsley Pesto and Chili

August 4, 2017

  • 15 mins

    15 mins

    30 mins

Prep
15 mins
Cook
15 mins
Yields
4 servings
Difficulty Level
Easy

Ingredients

400 g hilopita Νο2 ZIMARIKA PSACHNON

1 kg carpet shells, grooved carpet shells or hard clams

coarse salt

30 ml olive oil

150 ml white wine

2 chili peppers (or more), finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

salt

For the parsley pesto

30 g pinenuts, roasted

30 ml olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 bunch of parsley, just the leaves

salt, freshly ground pepper

Directions

For the pesto:

Put all the ingredients in the blender and process it until you get a beautiful paste.

For hilopita:

Pour sufficient water and coarse salt in a bowl and mix well. Put the carpet shells in and leave for one hour till their sand is washed out.

Rub with a brush to remove anything stuck to the shells and wash very well with running water. Drain in a colander.

Boil the hilopita al dente, in a large pot with salted water. Drain and keep warm.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.

Add the garlic and chili peppers and sauté for 1½ minutes.

Start Timer (2 minutes)

Add the shells and shake the frying pan

Deglaze with the wine and shake the frying pan until all shells open, for about 5 minutes.

Start Timer (5 minutes)

Toss those that do not open and transfer the rest to a bowl using a strainer.

Place the frying pan back on heat and let the sauce cook until reduced to half.

Put the hilopita and the pesto in and mix well using locking tongs.

Add the carpet shells and continue to mix gently.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately

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